Mike Brown credits Jalen Brunson for sparking Knicks’ defensive turnaround

The Knicks fought out of their rut and turned their season around primarily due to a dramatic defensive improvement. 

And coach Mike Brown praised an unlikely, or little appreciated, part of it — Jalen Brunson. 

“Jalen’s a good defender,” Brown said. “Obviously, a lot of people sleep on that. I don’t know why they have for years. He’s competitive, he’s feisty, he’s strong. There was a clip that we used from the Toronto game. We like to make sure we one-two [step] into the ball with a little physicality while leading with your chest — not with your hands — and getting over the screen as the ball comes over the screen.

“If there was a definition of how to defend the ball in a pick-and-roll situation when you’re on the ball, that play would’ve been it. Because he step-slided, used his chest and because he did that, [Immanuel] Quickley pushed off and he picked up an offensive foul.”

The Knicks have recorded a 92.8 defensive rating during their current five-game winning streak — best in the NBA during that stretch.  

“He’s been impressive leading with his chest, showing his hands and trying to play defense the right way with a little chip on his shoulder,” Brown said. “So it’s not just him, it’s all of our guys that have done that. But it’s good to see him doing it, especially with the scoring load that we put him on the other end of the floor.” 

After losing nine of 11 games, the Knicks have benefited from some needed rest. 

They had two days off between a blowout win over the Nets and a win over the 76ers, and another two days off between that 76ers game and their win over the Kings.

These last five games during their streak came across 10 days. 

“To be able to spend some time in the gym, where you’re not worrying about playing a game, has benefited us a ton,” Brown said. “We’ve made some changes on both ends of the floor. The more time we have to continue working on it, on them, the better we’ll be at the end of the day.”